Climate change and the threat of more pandemics are two of the biggest factors driving the legacy agenda in international association meetings, a new report has claimed.
Copenhagen Legacy Lab, from Copenhagen CVB, is the result of extensive research into the impact of international congresses and the roles of associations, cities, and meeting planners over several years. It describes legacy as ‘the positive, long-term contribution that international conventions are leaving behind for the benefit of the association, its community, and society at large’.
Besides reflecting on the meaning of legacy, the document gives concrete examples from the world of international association meetings and provides a handy toolkit of posters, commitment sheets, and activity cards for associations, destination marketing organisations and planners.
The report claims this a crucial moment for the legacy movement. It says five factors – climate change, Covid-19, the pursuit of purpose, the tech revolution, and the increase in collaborative working – are pushing associations towards more purposeful meetings, which can demonstrate wider societal impacts.
The publication follows work carried out by others in the meetings industry such as The Joint Meeting Industry Council, BestCities, ICCA, Sydney University of Technology and IMEX.
Kit Lykketoft, Director of Conventions at Wonderful Copenhagen, said: “Reflecting on the past year and all the challenges and uncertainty it has brought along, there is no doubt that the need for international congresses to leave a sustainable impact is more important than ever.”
She added: “The purpose of Copenhagen Legacy Lab is to develop and collect knowledge and best practices and turn them into concrete actionable learnings for the benefit of the industry and society at large. By sharing the insights and learnings we have achieved so far with the global meetings industry, we hope that associations and destinations around the globe will join our commitment and efforts to ensure positive, long-lasting, and sustainable impacts of international congresses and a strong meetings industry of the future.”
Copenhagen CVB will continue its work with the Copenhagen Legacy Lab project as a valuable component to its congress business model. As part of its on-going legacy efforts, Copenhagen Legacy Lab has also become a partner of The Iceberg to support the global work with legacy and to be part of an international platform that enables destinations to knowledge share with each other.
Written By
James Lancaster
AMI editor James
Lancaster is a familiar face in the meetings industry and international
association community. Since joining AMI in 2010, he has gained a reputation
for asking difficult questions and getting lost in convention centres. Proofer, podcaster, and panellist - in his spare time, James likes to walk,
read, listen to music, and drink beer.
